Kitchen cupboard organisation: 5 things to get rid of
Feeling small in your kitchen? Maybe it’s because you’ve accumulated too much stuff over the years? When organizing your kitchen cabinets, it’s time to reorganize your kitchen appliances so that you can fit comfortably and not feel cramped. I’ll help point you in the direction of the 5 things you’re most likely squeezing unnecessary space for in your kitchen!
First step in kitchen cupboard organisation: sorting
To perfect your kitchen storage, you should definitely start by sorting. Because too many items make it much harder to organise and keep tidy in the long term. But which items are worth sorting out? Here are 5 things I’ve put together to help you get started, after which organising your cupboards will be a breeze!
I won’t go into food specifically in this list, but of course, be sure to sort through dry foods and non-perishables and get rid of those that are past their expiry date!
- Unhealthy kitchen utensils
Be sure to get rid of any kitchen utensils that could be dangerous to your health. These include rusty pots and pans and small utensils like potato ricers and cheese graters. Be sure to check the condition of your metal utensils! Also get rid of any pots that have chipped enamel or damaged Teflon surfaces. To avoid this in the future, line your pans up in a pan holder and use a silicone spatula when cooking, as this won’t damage them.
- Broken, faulty, unusable utensils
I don’t need to explain why broken and almost unusable utensils are not worth keeping. This includes utensils such as a ladle with a missing handle, a pot with broken ears or a cracked tray, for example.
In the long run, these are worth replacing because they hinder fast and efficient cooking!
- What you don’t know what it’s for
Most people have items in their kitchen that are oddly shaped, making it hard to tell at first what they are for. This could be a fork that helps you chop onions, or a corn husker that helps you peel cooked corn cobs. These are usually things that you could easily manage without in the kitchen, but in rare cases they can be useful.
If you have similar items, sort through them before you start organising your kitchen cupboards, see exactly what the item is for and if you feel you don’t need it, get rid of it. I think that if you didn’t know what you could use it for before, chances are you won’t miss it now!
4.
It’s a good idea to get rid of items that you have so much of that you don’t even use half of them anymore, as this can free up a lot of space. If you find 2-3 of a particular item in your drawer, such as a pizza cutter or a silicone baking tin, choose your favourite, as there’s no need to keep more of these substitutes. But what you almost always have plenty of in a household are mugs. How many mugs do you have?
Time to sort out the promotional mugs and the ones you never use.
Keep a few of your favourite pieces or those that make up a set, the rest are just taking up space!
- Mason jars, plastic containers
Although jars can often be very useful, they can accumulate a lot after a while. Sort through them and put any that don’t have a lid or are of a size and shape that isn’t the most practical for food storage in the recycling bin. Only keep as many bottles as you actually use! Same goes for all those scrappy ice cream and sour cream containers. Most of these cans don’t seal well, turn yellow quickly and are easily blown off the top. Get rid of them and invest in good quality food storage containers or Hugger bag sealable pouches if you’ve been using them for freezing or packing leftovers.
What should you look out for when organising your cupboards?
The system of cupboard organisation that works well for you will depend on the type of kitchen units you have: open or closed storage. Because some people have kitchen cabinets with doors on the wall, while others have an open shelving system for storage. The downside of open shelving is that the things you store on it are constantly in plain sight and even a small amount of clutter and clutter can cause visual noise. For this reason, make sure that you keep things stored here in an airy, well-separated way.
A plate rack or a kitchen interior shelf can help you store plates more aesthetically than if you just stack them on top of each other. Not to mention that it’s more practical and safer too, as stacked plates can be easily damaged when lifted off the shelf due to the difficult access.
The design of a system hidden behind doors is simpler in that you can pack a lot more things in there with the right containers, because there’s no chance of visual noise. Feel free to use a clear rotating tray or spice rack to keep small supplies or ingredients tidy.
Whatever the design of your kitchen furniture, there’s one thing you should always keep in mind when planning your cupboard layout if you want an aesthetically pleasing system: choose uniform, matching storage units!
Under-counter storage
What about keeping your under-counter cabinetry organized? This is where we usually store pans, cutlery and other kitchen mixing spoons in drawers, but many people also keep food, tea towels and plates, plastic containers and mixing bowls in this area. Unfortunately, deep shelves make it difficult to organise things conveniently, as it’s harder to find items stacked at the end of the shelf, but try to make the most of what you have, because believe me, it’s not impossible! Stack the plastic mixing bowls inside each other, and put the storage boxes with the top in a deeper drawer, or stack them on top of each other if you have a shelf space. Arranging the tops of the pots in a wall or door-mounted lid holder frees up more space on shelves and drawers, not to mention you’ll always have lids to hand and can quickly find the right one when you’re cooking.
To make your cupboard organisation a success, you’ll also need to keep your drawers tidy. To keep cutlery neatly stored, it’s best to use a drawer organizer of the right size. Does your kitchen have an all-purpose drawer? If so, don’t forget to sort it out!
Organise the cupboards under the sink
What do you store under the sink tray in your kitchen cupboards? Many people squeeze the bin in there, and some people keep cleaning products, kitchen towels, dishcloths and dish sponges. When it comes to kitchen organisation, don’t leave this little area out of the process!
For storing cleaning products, for example, a rotating tray or a kitchen spice rack pyramid is a super choice, which, contrary to its name, is also suitable for storing not only spices but also tinned food, kitchen utensils and cleaning products and chemicals. This also helps keep things stacked in the back aisle neatly organized, which can help you eliminate chaos or buying more of the same thing just because you can’t find it the first time. But don’t forget to sort through these items before you organise! Rarely used cleaning products can tend to last longer than they need to, but my advice is to get rid of the expired stuff. For storing smaller items like dishcloths, wipes, solid soap or even kitchen towels, you can designate a kitchen storage box to conveniently organise them in.
Do you think your kitchen cupboards could do with a bit of organising? Do you keep things in your kitchen that you might want to get rid of? I hope I’ve given you some inspiration to get started!
